Bitwise Industries, the Fresno-based company in the news this week for its apparent financial collapse, has a $1 million services contract with the city. Councilmen Mike Karbassi and Nelson Esparza want to end that contract and get the city's money back. At a Thursday news conference, Karbassi and Esparza announced...
FUSD Offers Teachers 11% Pay Raise over 3 Years in First Contract Proposal
Fresno Unified School District's first contract proposal presented Thursday to the Fresno Teachers Association includes an 11% salary increase over the next three years that would be contingent on state funding. The district had previously agreed to pay 100% of health care premiums for individuals. Families of three or larger...
FUSD Offers Teachers 11% Pay Raise over 3 Years in First Contract Proposal
Fresno Unified School District's first contract proposal presented Thursday to the Fresno Teachers Association includes an 11% salary increase over the next three years that would be contingent on state funding. The district had previously agreed to pay 100% of health care premiums for individuals. Families of three or larger...
What Bitwise Told Potential Lenders as It Tried to Raise Cash Before Employee Furloughs
In the days before Bitwise furloughed its entire workforce, company co-CEO Jake Soberal was busy calling, texting, and emailing local business leaders in hopes of obtaining bridge loans to navigate through a financial squeeze. Soberal's pitch to two of the bridge-loan prospects offered sky-high interest rates. In addition, one of...
Texas Company Seeks $33 Million From Bitwise in Lawsuit Filed Today
A new lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks $33 million from Bitwise Industries for a failed business venture. This is the latest negative financial news for the Fresno-based tech/real estate company, which furloughed its staff of about 900 employees on Monday. Filed by Texas-based NICbyte LLC, the lawsuit alleges that Bitwise and...
Fresno Gives Cherished, Graffiti-Scarred Renzi Artwork New Hope
Four months after a fire destroyed a Fresno building housing a modern classic work of art, there is hope for "A Day in the Park." The Clement Rezni bas-relief sculpture, depicting children enjoying recreational activities across 288 clay tiles, survived a January 30 fire at the Fagbule Glass House. While...
Westlands Lets Bounty of Floodwater Flow to Ocean Instead of Maximizing Groundwater Recharge
Groundwater recharge — or the lack of it — was a driving force behind the sweep of new board members who took over the behemoth Westlands Water District last fall. “Urgently develop groundwater recharge,” was the top plank in the platform of four candidates who won election in November. And...
Dyer, Swearengin Reveal Grants Made to Bitwise. Company Mum About Problems.
As Bitwise started its ascent to making Fresno a tech innovation hub, it had a great champion in then-mayor Ashley Swearengin. And, the company picked up a $1 million American Rescue Plan Act grant from City Hall under Mayor Jerry Dyer in late 2022. Today, both leaders are hoping that...
Fresno County Sales Taxes B to Z: How Your Billions Are Being Spent
Voters in Fresno County cast their ballots on at least three tax measures in 2022 — one for roads, another for zoos, and a new one for Fresno State. A revival of the failed Measure E, supporting Fresno State, will in all likelihood appear on a 2024 ballot. City of...
Consultants ID $2.5 Billion in Needs for Fresno Schools. Time for Another Bond Measure?
An assessment of Fresno Unified School District facilities has identified nearly $2.5 billion in needs, from building and site condition deficiencies to technology readiness and "educational suitability." How to pay for it, or at least a part of it? The district could ask voters to approve a bond measure, possibly...